WELL thank Heavens for that: Judges at this year's Michelangelo awards remarked "that very few wines with the so-called 'burnt rubber' phenomenon were tasted, despite inferences to this effect in the media."

Where this statement fits into the announcement of the Michelangelo results or where these media "inferences" appeared, one can only wonder... but wait, there's more, according to the press announcement the judging panel showed some semi-stiffs and wet ones after tasting the Cabernet Franc category.